25 June 2012
I've seen people being attacked on grounds of plagiarism for weeks now, and I'm pretty sick of it, so it's time to put some sense into it all.
"Plagiarism is defined in dictionaries as the "wrongful appropriation," "close imitation," or "purloining and publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions," and the representation of them as one's own original work, but the notion remains problematic with nebulous boundaries.
The modern concept of plagiarism as immoral and originality as an ideal emerged in Europe only in the 18th century, particularly with the Romantic movement, while in the previous centuries authors and artists were encouraged to "copy the masters as closely as possible" and avoid "unnecessary invention." The 18th century new morals have been institutionalized and enforced prominently in the sectors of academia and journalism, where plagiarism is now considered academic dishonesty and a breach of journalistic ethics, subject to sanctions like expulsion and other severe career damage. Not so in the arts, which not only have resisted in their long-established tradition of copying as a fundamental practice of the creative process, but with the boom of the modernist and postmodern movements in the 20th century, this practice has been heightened as the central and representative artistic device. Plagiarism remains tolerated by 21st century artists.
Plagiarism is not a crime per se but is disapproved more on the grounds of moral offence, and cases of plagiarism can involve liability for copyright infringement." -source: Wikipedia
"In the event where a student commits plagiarism using copyrighted material this is not considered as copyright infringement because fair use principles would apply (Cronin 2003). However, the student will be committing an academic offence and this should be dealt with by the academic institution. Plagiarism becomes a legal offence only when there is intent to make money at the expense of the copyright owner (Cronin 2003)." -source: The Higher Education Academy
Just a quick question: Does a poem qualify as "academia and journalism"? And another question: Why do certain people on here claim that plagiarism is illegal, when it is in fact not even a legal term? Third question: Is Opuss an academic community, or even profitable in any way?
Plagiarism • Opuss № I